Adapting to technological change

OPINION: What comes to your mind when you think about the future of work?

Presentations via hologram or sharing an office with a robot? It’s difficult to predict exactly what the future will look like.

One thing is certain. It’s hard to ignore the change technology has already brought to the workplace and difficult to imagine a future without more of it.

The future of work will bring disruption. It will also bring amazing opportunities.

Much like the innovations that have brought us here, the next wave will continue to make our lives more efficient, productive, and easier.

We are in the middle of the forth industrial revolution. If you haven’t started yet, it’s about time you start preparing your business for the future of work.

People respond differently to change, some fear it. One of the most common fears out there is that people in the workplace will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

The reality is that right now. Today.

Many of the tasks we do could easily be automated and it’s not just the administrative or operational roles, its touching customer service to. Chances are at the end of that online conversation with your favourite brand is a very smart piece of software, or Chatbot.

How can SMEs prepare for this? They are after all the engine of our economy, making up 97 per cent of all NZ businesses.

The first piece of advice would be to embrace this change.

Fighting the inevitable is wasted time. Be open to change. See it around you and accept that AI will revolutionise how we work. Focus on the positive changes this will bring to the workplace.

The message I’m hearing is that technology means less time spent on menial tasks, leaving employees free to focus on the more rewarding elements of their work with more value added for customers.

Reframe how you think about this. It’s actually about remaining competitive, it’s about survival. What we are starting to see is businesses that are highly digitised are enjoying better productivity and profitability over competitors who are slower to adapt to digitisation.

The next thing you can do to help your business is to invest in the people in your business.

Complete automation is still a few years away but it’s unavoidable that many workers will need to upskill as their roles evolve to incorporate AI.

The Chamber can help here by supporting local businesses to upskill their staff on knowledge skill gaps with funding via the NZTE Regional Business Partner programme.

For any business that is interested to know more about robotic options, we can introduce you to the experts.

Encourage your team to develop an ‘always on’ learning mentality.

Regardless of age, position, or time with the company, your staff should always be seeking out new ways to grow and develop in their field.

The Chamber offers a whole menu of courses, events, and tools to help your team build their knowledge and expertise in this regard.

What’s important when hiring new talent is also changing. Rather than focusing only on past experience, look for people with the potential to adapt, be flexible and up-skill.

These are the qualities that will define a team’s success as we incorporate more advanced technology.

Flexibility is another important element that employees will expect in the future.

The sun is setting on the 9-5 work day.

The ability to access work from any mobile device means more people are looking to work remotely and maximise productivity.

If you stop and think about it, we actually already have the tools to prepare for the future of work. We just need to start using them.

We have a growing set of resources to help our members understand how the future of work will affect their business. Are you prepared?

Hans Neilson is general manager of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.

Embracing new technologies like Chatbot could not only revolutionise businesses, it could put them in a stronger position to seize new opportunities as they come along.